Page 2 of Beast

Having a Vegas stripper as your mom, you grow up fast.And cynical.All the time I was growing up, my mom swore she had no idea who my father was, and I believed her.I’d seen the endlessly changing parade of bed partners while I was a child.The list of possibilities for my father was probably longer than the line up for free booze at a frat house party.When I turned legal age, I did one of those DNA ancestry things, though, and I’d found him.

An FBI agent.How ironic is that?

Turns out he was a pretty good guy though.He didn’t bat an eye when I confronted him, just asked why he’d never heard of me before.I have a feeling he already knew the answer to that one.

I wasn’t a “Daddy’s little princess” kind of girl -- too late to go down that road.He wasn’t the doting father type either, so we got along okay.It helped that I lived in the West, and he lived in Georgia.We’d only met in person once, but we kept in touch, and just knowing I had one stable parent kind of made me feel almost normal.Almost.

Now it was time to find out just how much he cared.I tapped on his number in my contact list and waited for him to answer.

“Hello, Piper.What’s up?”He sounded relaxed.Given the time zone difference between coasts, he was probably settled in for the night and watching whatever sport was currently being broadcast.

“Hey, Dad.Funny thing happened when I got off work tonight.Got a minute to talk?”

“Sure.”

“Remember me telling you I’d been dating a guy named Drake, and it didn’t work out so well?”

“Yeah.You’re not pregnant, are you?”

I rolled my eyes.“No.That would be really bad.See, what I didn’t mention was the reason I bailed was because I found out Drake had mob connections.”

“Mafia?Are you serious?”He didn’t sound relaxed anymore.“Exactly what kind of connection are we talking about?”

I gulped.“He’s being groomed to take over his father’s operations.As in he’ll be the next don.They run most of the illegal activity in Vegas.”

Dead silence greeted my statement.

“Dad?”

“I’m here.Just trying to digest this.Ignoring the part where you were dating a mafia kingpin, you split with that guy months ago, so what happened tonight?”

“Someone tried to kill me.They said Drake ordered it.”

“That doesn’t make sense.He let you go and ignored you for months.Why would he suddenly want you dead?No offence, but my experience with those kinds of guys is they’re pretty casual about their affairs.Once they’re done, they’re done, and they move on, especially if you were never involved in family activities.”

“Exactly what I thought we’d done.We said goodbye and both moved on.I even took a gig in San Diego and left the area so I’m nowhere near him.Haven’t seen him since the break-up.I have no idea what the hell is going on, or why he suddenly wants me dead.”

“Did he ever discuss his business dealings with you, or did you ever overhear anything you shouldn’t have?”

“No.I was clueless, until he suddenly decided to fess up.I had a feeling he wanted out.He knew I wouldn’t hang around once I found out.”

“Okay.We can figure that out later.Right now, we need to get you safe.Where are you?”

I looked around.“Hiding under a willow tree a couple of blocks from my house.Empty lot on the corner.”

“Right.I’m going to send someone to pick you up and bring you here.Give me a few minutes, and I’ll call you back with details.”

“Thanks.”I let out a sigh of relief.Glancing down at my phone, I realized it had been less than an hour since I’d left work.Amazing how quickly life could change.

Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed.Dad.I hit accept.

“Good news.One of the groups we use for security happens to have an agent in your area.He should be there to pick you up in twenty minutes or so, depending on traffic.Just a heads up, he’s on a bike.You okay with that?”

“A bike, as in a motorcycle?”

“Yeah.He’s a big guy, lots of leather and tattoos.He looks a little rough, but he’s decent and I told him to get you a helmet.Luckily, he was out there on personal business and was just getting ready to head back here to his home base.There’s a hamburger joint two blocks east of your position.He’ll meet you there.I sent him a picture so he’d recognize you.He’ll ask if you like the ocean.You answer yes, but the riptides are dangerous.Got that?”

I knew the place he was talking about.I stopped in there occasionally for takeout.Despite the shabby exterior they made damn good hamburgers.This was starting to sound like a B-rated movie, though, with code phrases and clandestine meetings.“Are you serious?About the ocean question?”

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